Improvement in elastic running-gear for carriages



.anni effin.

GEORGE n. cannnrsonr RUss'nLLvrLLn, KENTUCKY.

y Letters Patent No. 109,608, dated November 29, 1870.l

IMPROVEMENT `lN ELASTIC RUNNING-GEAR FOR CARRIAGES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom yit may concern:

Be it-known that I, GEORGE E. GABnE'rsox, of Russellville, in the countyof Logan and 'State of Kentucky, have invented a new and improvedElastic Running Gear for Carriageshand I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact descrip- 4tion of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure-lis a side view. Figure 2 is ahorizontal'section. Figure 3 represents a'moditication of theconstruction shown in figs. l and 2.

the forward axle.;

Secondly, a new form of loop for supporting the carriage-body andv gThirdly, a novel method of ,preventing the fall 0r tripping ot' the'carriage-body in case a spring should break. I

In the drawing- A represents the forward and B the rear axle;

y ,0, the main spriugs,cousistiug of several leaves, o c;

D, the carriage-body;

E E, the loops that support the body; i

M N, the devices that connect the springs to the axles and f F G,supplementary springs, attached to the parts M N or M B- respectively,and employed, if desired, for the purpose of furnishing additionalelastic snpports for the extremities of the body D, as shown in thelrawing.-

My improvements consist, first, in the'coust-rnction of the part M, andits combination with the springs C G and forward axle Ai The palt M isdesigned to furnish a horizontal hearing' for the main springs, and avertical socket for the king-bolt, the said bearing and socket being soconnected together that they cannot be rocked independently .of eachother.

In igs. 1 and'2, thepart M is represented as Iormed in a ksingle piece,having four arms, two, Im. m, extending backward nearly in a horizontalplane, and adapted to su'bort thes rines and two m1 m1 cxtendinnrforward in a vertical plane, one of them passing over and the otherunder the axlc,'so as to givea firm bearing for the king-bolt, and toallow the free movement of the axle in turning the carriage.

VIt is not absolutely essential, however, that the device be confined tothe precise form above described, for, if preferred, it may beconstructed as represented in tig. 3, the two arms m m running forwardto a point over the axle on each side' of the head ofA the king-bolt,and distant a few inches therefrom, and being there attached to ahead-block or bolster, b, made either o f met-al orwood, and if of metalconstructed in one piece, with the arms m 'm or not, as

may be preferred.

Then the arms m m. arc thus connected to the part b, a connection ismadcwith the lower end of the king-bolt by means of a U-shapcd brace, m2, asshown, the bolt passing through the center of the curve ot' the brace,and the ends of the brace being bent up and attachedto the arms m on.. f

This form of apparatus preserves the horizontal Abearings for thesprings, and the vertical socket for the king-bolt, as before. rI hearrangement of the parts is, however, slightly different, and has someadvantages overthc other form.'

The part on?, for example,'serves to brace the apparatus laterally'.vThe weightof theca-rriage-body rests more directly on the axle, so thatin the eventv of a fracture of the springs or the part M, the' bodvwould not be likely to fall to the ground.

In form, too, it more closely resembles the common bolster arrangement,and therefore is less likely 'to arouse the prejudices of the public, solong accustomed to the old construction.

Other equivalent methods of construction may, perhaps, be adopted, itbeing only essential, first, that a horizontal part or parts should beemployed equivalent tom fm, for the purpose of firmly holding thesprings; secondly, that two parts should be employed as equivalents-ofm1 mi, viz., one to hold the head,

and the other the footfof the king-bolt, the former above and thc latterbelow the axle; and, thirdly, that the parts thus holding the springsand the kingbolt should be rigidly connected together, so that onecannot be turned or rocked independently of thev other.

I amaware that a device has heretofore been in use that might beconsidered as having the equivalents of the parts fm. m, and also of theVparts m ml, but as said parts were constructed so as to turn or rockindependently of each other, and thereby canse the turning of thecarriage to very frequently result in the overturning of it, theoperation'of said device isesscntially unlike that of mine, and I makeno claiml to its invention.

Disks or washers a a of leather, 'raw-hide, or other snitablematerialmay bc employcdou cithcr side of the axle, between the parts m1 m, vforthe purpose of preventing the jarring and rattling of the carriage.

The met-al employed in the part- Mis preferably the finest and toughestcharcoal iron, so thatthere can be no possible danger of fracture.

The rear ends of the arms m m are tobe widened and flattened, to adaptthem to receive and hold the ends of both springs GC and F F.

It will be observed that by the employment of this device the necessityfor a fifth wheel Vis obviated, and that no head-block or bolster isnecessary, unless the part b, shown in tig. 3, beregarded' astheequivalent thereof1 The second feature of my invention is in thepeculiar shape of the loops E E to adapt them for, use in connectionwith the springs O O, when the latter are arranged in the triangularposition represented in iig. 2.

It is an obvious necessity that the base of the loops should conform tothe direction of the spring, while the upper ends, that support thebody, should be in line with the body. rIhe result is a twist in theshape ofthe loop, which, when the latter is made of wood, as has beenthe practice heretofore, prevents ,natiou of the two arms c being suchas to bring them in line with each other under the body, so that a linepassing through the two t'op flanges of one side loop will be nearly orquite parallel to' a similar line. passing through the top flanges ofthe other side loop. My third improvement consists in the means adoptedfor preventing injury to the ypassengers from the :incidentalfraeture'of a spring.' rllhe only danger of this kind that needs tobegnarded against arises from the possibility ofthe lower leaf, c,Abeing accidentally broken, the upper leaves not being liable togive'way, and, if they were, heilig supported by the lower leaf, softhatthe carriage couldl not fall.

To prevent the carriage from fallingin case of the fracture of the lowerleaf, I connect the second leaf, as well as the lower leaf, to thebearings M N, so that if the lower leaf breaks the second leaf 4w-illhohl and save the carriage and passengers.

To this end the supporting-plates M'N are cach constructed with lips, aa, turn-ed over the two leaves,. so that the spring may work freely in alongitudinal direction, anda shoulder, offset, or lip, or other'projection, u', is formed upon the second leaf, 'either on its side, asshown in tig. 2, or its cud or upper surface, as represented in fig. l,which cannot-bc di'awn past the lips n 11, but will lock against vvtheinand prevent the leaf from being detached from -the bearings by anylongitudinal strain, however great it may be. If, then, the lower .leafshould part, the weight of the carriage-body, coming directly upon the'secondleaf, will depress it anchdraw its ends toward each other but, asthey cannot be withdrawn from the :socketJ4 formed by the lips u n, thev( :arriage-body will still be firmly supported and all dangerl tothepassengers will v be obviated. l Y

I do not wish to limit myself to the precisedctails of constructionherein described, but 4desire to be at the different varieties ofvehicle in use.

used, they will rest upon the parts fm. m N.

with the proper action of the Yspring in'its ordinarywork, but to holdthe second leaf firmly in ease the first leafshould give way at anytime.

The details'of construction `shown in the drawing may be modified atwill to adapt myimprovements to For example, in constructing what Aisknown to theftrade as a drop-front carriage, the forward arm e" of theloop may be dropped down lower thanrepresented; and in any crooked workthe arms c elmay be more or less inclined vertically or laterally, tosuit theshapc of the'. body. f

An elastic strip, r,may be insertedlbetween the base c andthe top leafof the spring, to prevent rattling, if desired.

Avskeleton carriage for fast 'driving may be constructed by making thepart E of f H-iron, properly bent, as above described, onevside of the Hserving to support the seat, and the other resting upon the spring. Inthis case the forward end of thepart that rests on the spring may beelongated and bent up to form a. foot-rest for the driver.' lhe springmay be made in a single leaf The carriage will then be reduced merelytowheels and connections, the lightest and simplest form possible. v

'.In lheavier carriages the rear end of the springs may be prolonged andbent up -into the C-form-for the support of the rear end of the vehicle,the whole thus combining in one an elliptic and a G-spring.

'lhe supplemental springs-F Gr may be madeof any idegree of rigidity,and will serve to equalize thepres'sure on the main springs, and' alsoto prevent the falling of the carriage-body in case of fracture of oneofthe main springs. If these springs are employed, there may be three orfour of them. Then four are 'hen three, two of them will be thussupported, and the third will bear directly upon the rear axle or uponthe center of the part M. v

4It will be observed that the connectiol'l' between the two axlesconsists only of the springs C O, which thus A reach may, however, be

upon the springs, and provided with arlns'c e, adapted to thc support ofdiiierent-shaped carriage-bodies,'sub stantially as described.

3. The combination or the second leaf of the spring,

resting upon the fn'st leaf, with their supporting-plates.

or bearings, when constructed to operate together in ease of thefracture of thelower leaf, substantially as described.

4. The described arrangement of the supplemental springs FG, whenemployed-in addition to the main springs, for the purpose specified.

' a GEORGE EfGARRElSOS.

Witnesses: y

L. Hlm, E. A. Ennswon'rin

